


Who's Minding the Store

by escribo



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Books!, Christmas Fluff, Coming Out, M/M, james is crude, my timing is off
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-03 00:19:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13329495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/escribo/pseuds/escribo
Summary: Sirius is minding his own business, Remus just wants to buy a book, and James doesn't even work there.





	Who's Minding the Store

"Is that him?"

Sirius looked up when James nudged his arm, toppling the stack of bookmarks stamped with the smiling face of a glittering vampire that Sirius had been pricing for the last twenty minutes. The bell over the door chimed merrily as _The Boy_ (as Sirius had cleverly dubbed him, though he knew quite well that his name was Remus Lupin) walked into the tiny bookshop. He was tall and fit in worn jeans, a tweed jacket that had seen better days, and a deep scarlet scarf wrapped twice around his neck. His curly chestnut hair fell into his deep brown eyes as he sought Sirius out before they both looked away.

"Who told you?" Sirius muttered when he was sure he couldn't be overheard by anyone other than James.

"Who else?" James answered. "Pete said he was cute, but he thinks everyone is cute so I didn't care until he said you had a crush."

"It's not a crush."

"Right."

"It's not!"

"Oh, I believe you," James said loftily as he took off his glasses and held them up as if inspecting them for smudges. 

He looked smug as he put them back on and looked at Sirius over the rims. Sirius hated when he looked like that. "What are you even doing here? Don't you have class this afternoon?"

"Canceled, and before you ask, Lily has a late study group. I've all the time in the world to listen to you explain how this thing you're harbouring isn't a crush. At least admit you think he's cute."

"I won't. I don't happen to think he's cute at all," Sirius bit off precisely. He could do smug, too. He even managed it for nearly ten whole seconds before The Boy came out from the art section, a thin paperback in his hands, one that Sirius recognized as an excellent little screed on Caravaggio's love life, before he started up the creaking wooden steps to the second floor. Smug was tempered by the reverence he felt as he watched the way Remus' jeans tugged across his arse with each step.

"Liar," James whispered hotly in Sirius' ear the minute Remus had disappeared back into the stacks.

"I'm not lying," Sirius said as he rubbed at his ear. "Pete is _cute_. Even you're _cute_ seen in the right light and without the elf hat. Where did you get that anyway?"

"Lily likes a man who isn't afraid to express the true spirit of Christmas."

"I can't believe you fell for that."

"She said it brought out the color of my eyes." James dipped down, trying to see his reflection in the small mirror that hung on the wall behind Sirius as he attempted to adjust the hat to a more jaunty angle.

"You are so whipped."

"I am not," James protested even as he took the hat off, leaving his hair standing on end. "And don't try to change the subject. You think this guy _transcends_ cute. I get it. I mean, even though I prefer pussy--"

"I'm so telling Lily you said that."

" _My point is_ , I don't have to be poofter to tell he's gorgeous. I bet his concentration is obscure dead poets, which is precisely your type--brilliant and deadly dull."

"He's not dull," Sirius sniffed as he gathered up the bookmarks.

"So you _have_ talked to him. Was I right? Is it poetry?"

"History. The Renaissance."

"So why haven't you ask him out?"

"You know perfectly well why not. I'm straight, too, James," Sirius said though without much conviction, "and I'm not in the habit of asking other boys out."

"Even if you think about it constantly."

"What?" Sirius looked up from the stand of bookmarks and met James' eyes, heat rushing to his cheeks.

"Might I remind you of a certain night just this past October when--"

"I can't believe you remember that."

"I forget nothing, even drunk, and especially not when my best friend since we were both in nappies comes out--"

"Keep your voice down." Sirius jammed the rest of the bookmarks onto their peg and sent the whole fixture spinning wildly. He came back to lean against the counter with James, his arms crossed over his chest. "I didn't come out. I admitted that there's a possibility that on occasion I've wondered what it would be like to be with a, you know."

"I'm not your father, Sirius. You can say it out loud, and I won't disown you."

"But he would, wouldn't he."

"At some point, you're going to have to make yourself happy first." James bumped Sirius' shoulder with his own--once, twice more until Sirius nodded. "Look, I'm not suggesting you marry the bloke and take him home to Walburga for Christmas dinner, just ask him out for coffee. You like coffee, and if the elbow patches are anything to go by, I bet he does, too. There's nothing terribly scary in that."

"You've just admitted you think he's good-looking, too, and yet you're not marching upstairs to see if he's free, if it's not a big deal."

"That's because I'm taken."

"Driving Lily to her roller derby matches is not the same as dating her."

"She's coming around."

"She thinks you're an idiot." 

The Boy was making his slow way down the stairs, two more books in his hands. He smiled when he caught Sirius staring, and Sirius felt his stomach flop nervously. Sirius looked down at the toes of his trainers, though he watched through his thick eyelashes as Remus stopped by the bin of remainders, thumbing through the titles. Sirius bit at his lip, feeling slightly ridiculous as he held his breath, waiting to see which book Remus would choose. When he drew out the thick book on Marco Polo's travels, the look on his face a bit ravenous, Sirius felt like dancing. He'd _known_ when he put the book out earlier in the day that The Boy would hardly be able to resist. Sirius was really glad that James never noticed but continued on with his favorite topic of conversation.

"It's only because my mouth disengages from my brain whenever she's near," James said. "At least it gives the two of you something in common."

"It's not just your mouth."

"It's those little skirts she wears. One day when she's wearing jeans and one of her mother's jumpers I'll impress her with my vast knowledge of the geopolitical situation in Southeast Asia. One in-depth conversation about the Saffron Revolution and she'll be putty in my hands."

"Oh yes, exactly. I absolutely recommend you let her read your thesis, too. There's nothing like a little bit of politics as foreplay."

"You're just pissy because you haven't worked up the nerve to say hello to Mr. Gorgeous over there, much less ask him out on a date."

"What if he says no?" Sirius asked because he had to admit at least to himself that James was more than a little bit right.

"He won't. Look, he's at your recommendations. I think it's a sign."

"A sign that he's well read, which I already knew."

"So, you have talked to him." James grinned at Sirius, looking at him over the rim of his glasses as he rocked back and forth on his heels. Smug.

"Of course, I have."

"Beyond _how can I help you_?"

"You are truly the most irritating person I know."

"I'm going to talk to him."

"You are not! James!"

"I am. I'm going to tell him you're a complete dullard, and he's best off thumbing through Pete's selections."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"He doesn't care for graphic novels, so there. Fine. Go make an arse of yourself, and put the rest of these away while you're at it," Sirius said, shoving a second stack of ridiculous be-glittered bookmarks into James' hands. "I'm going on break so watch the till."

"Chicken."

Sirius ate his cold ham sandwich and washed it down with a cup of tea, lingering in the break room until he was sure that Remus had left. When he came back downstairs, the store was empty except for James, who sat on the counter next to the till thumbing through a magazine. 

He looked up brightly when he saw Sirius. "His name is Remus Lupin, he's our age--despite the elbow patches--and he doesn't like graphic novels."

"I told you."

"But did you know his name?"

"It's on his bank card."

"So that's why Stapledon's _A Wolf at the Door_ made it to your wall. You were sending him a message. You do know that's practically pornography."

"It's erotica," Sirius sniffed. "There's a difference, and I happen to like the book very much."

"So did he. In fact," James said as he hopped down from the counter and followed Sirius over to the children's section, "he had a lot of complimentary things to say about you and your _brilliant_ mind."

Sirius stilled his hands, not quite ready to give into James, but definitely curious. "Like what?"

"I don't know that I'm inclined to tell you."

"I don't care anyway."

"Such a liar. I blame your upbringing. He said you made the best recommendations of anyone in the store, and then asked if you were seeing anyone."

Eartha Kitt crooned several bars of _Santa Baby_ while that information careened around Sirius' brain. "What did you tell him?" He asked slowly.

"I told him that you're smart and witty, despite your rather limited repertoire of insults and apparently crippling yet peculiar reserve, considering you've never much exhibited that particular trait until he began shopping Tome Raiders."

"You didn't."

"I assured him that I thought it would wear off once you got over your nerves." James straightened up, clearly proud of himself. 

Sirius dropped the books he was holding to cover his face with his hands, his thoughts turning to how James was the worst. "What else did you say?"

"I told him that you were my oldest, dearest friend and that I couldn't do without you, and thought you'd make someone a wonderful partner one day, or at least a good companion for dinner and movie out."

Sirius couldn't help his smile. James really was the best friend he'd ever had.

"I also told him that you'd probably put out on the first date since it's been ages since you've snogged anything other than a book."

"James!"

"What? You're interested. Though being slightly delusional about your penetrating mind, he's keen apparently, or he just wants to press you for the titles of more obscure novels. Either way, you'll have a night out of the flat, and I can invite Lily over for a little tête-à-tête."

"You are disgusting."

"Precisely. He's coming back at five to get that stack of books and to take you out to dinner."

"I don't get off until six."

"I'll cover for you."

"You do know you don't work here."

"Details, my friend." James fluttered his hand over his head as he took his magazine and headed toward the back of the store to sink into one of the deep chairs.

Sirius watched him go before he turned to the stack of books that Remus was coming back for. He flipped through them, unsurprised by Remus' selections until he came to the last-- _Love Is in the Stars_. A fairly ridiculous book, Sirius knew, and almost nothing more than pornography. His stomach flopped pleasantly as he thought perhaps--just maybe--it might be a sign. He certainly hoped so, and decided, for once, that he'd damn the consequences and finally find out.

**Author's Note:**

> Written during the 2011 fest


End file.
